By Carol Tannenhauser
In the past, if I was ever short of good copy for the Rag, I would turn to Mildred Alpern, a longtime contributor of poetry and photographs. Sometimes, she would send me things spontaneously as well, like the poem below. It came with a note.
Hi Carol, I used to tap dance, and I have seen Savion Glover tap dance to city noises. Memories and everyday outside sounds inspired this poem. Best, Mildred
Mildred died this year at the age of 91, but she left behind a trove of compositions, still unpublished, that we’ll be drawing from for a long time. This one has changed my perception of the intrusive noises that assault us in the city, even, the angry horns!
“Tap Dance to UWS City Sounds”
By Mildred Alpern
The horns of the city wreak night and day
Short and loud blasts echoing play
Fluttering beeps and lengthier sounds
Symphonic notes that leap out of bounds
Steamrolling tires press on the ground
Smooth level treads whisking around
A murmuring hum but not fading fast
If trying to sleep, how long will noise last?
City sounds heard, incessant mumble
Of jackhammer and drill ongoing rumble
A hammer is pounding on a rooftop nearby
A staccato beat rhythm like a rock-a-baby bye
It’s all in the background
Of ambient noise
That running a city daily employs
Don’t forget the clucking pigeons
A stammering few
That perch on windowsills
For a look around view
Their stay is most brief
Flap wings, fly away
Zoom over to a rooftop
A few blocks away
You could time step, you could shuffle
To the disparate beats
Make your own kind of clatter
With shoe taps on your feet
Fast barrel turns would bring sense of flight
And merge your own being in a noise-filled spotlight
love th evocation of the city’s soul, esp the
UWS
I love her poetry. It’s beautiful noise for the head. I never liked sleeping in silence. It’s scary, like the proverbial calm before the storm, or that pause before a nuclear bomb I’ve “heard” in movies. Sound is life. These sounds come from the machines the human animal created, so in some sense, they’re natural. Even musical. Keep sending us her poetry, because they provide a thoughtful pause between the inevitable sounds of cynicism and well-reasoned negativity. Long live Mildred Alpern!
Mildred Alpern’s poetry is so well executed and seamless. Her rhymes are not forced; they just flow with such ease.
She has captured the city time and again.
Please continue to keep her memory alive through her beautiful poetry.